Sequel 'more badass' than previous offering, says Microsoft

Microsoft has promised that Gears of War 2 will launch for the Xbox 360 this November.

Cliff Bleszinski, lead designer at Epic Games, announced that the saga of Marcus Fenix and Delta Squad will continue on the Xbox 360 this autumn with the highly anticipated sequel to the 4.5 million-selling blockbuster Gears of War.

"To our team the original game was just a tease, the appetiser to the Gears of War characters and new style of gameplay," said Bleszinski at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.

"Gears of War 2 is an even bigger, better and more badass experience than the first game, and we cannot wait to get it in the hands of eager gamers this November."

Also at the conference, Peter Molyneux, of Lionhead Studios, took the stage to showcase multiplayer features in Fable 2, introducing dynamic cooperative play for the first time.

Tomonobu Itagaki, head of Team Ninja, revealed new Ninja Gaiden II game-sharing features, including Ninja Cinema, which is available solely through Xbox Live, allowing players to record and upload their best ninja moves.

Microsoft said that it has received more than $250m in digital revenue from Xbox Live Marketplace through the purchase of more than 20 billion Microsoft Points.